A photograph taken at Mersehead, Dumfries and Galloway (main image) along with two others taken at Byre’s Road Glasgow, and Rhu, near Helensburgh were yesterday ( 30th November) chosen by Harry Benson as being among the best entries of the Parliament’s #SeeingScotland photography competition. A public vote will now decide the overall winner of the competition.
The competition, which was run on Instagram, received almost 5,000 entries from people across Scotland. People can vote for their favourite image simply by liking it on the Scottish Parliament’s Facebook and Instagram pages until noon on the 2nd of December. The photograph with the most likes will be crowned the winner.
The Dumfries and Galloway image was taken by Lorna Young. Lorna is a marketing consultant based in Dumfries. Lorna Said “It was taken on the beach of RSPB Mersehead nature reserve on the Solway Coast at the end of February – it was a lovely sunny late winter day with a low sun. It was our puppy’s first day at the beach so my son (Alexander) was introducing our dog (Neo) to the beach and they were both running about and playing with sticks together. I snapped the photo while neither of them were aware, so while the rest of our photos that day are full of action and posing and nonsense, this quiet moment, when they were simply enjoying each other’s company, is my favourite.”
You can Vote HERE
A free exhibition of some of Harry’s most iconic images are currently on display at the Scottish Parliament. Harry Benson: Seeing America captures significant moments in America’s social, political and cultural history over the last 50 years. It closes on the 3 December.
Inspired by the exhibition and Harry Benson, the #SeeingScotland competition asked people to share their photos on Instagram that encapsulated:
Your life in Scotland
What Scotland means to you
A celebration of Scotland
The finalists of the public vote will be awarded first, second and third prizes by the Presiding Officer, which will include signed Harry Benson books, their winning Instagram photo framed alongside Harry’s feedback and a special tour of the Parliament building.
The winning image will also join the Scottish Parliament art collection on display in the Parliament’s public café.
The Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament, the Rt Hon Ken Macintosh MSP said:
“This competition was all about celebrating Scotland and its people through the medium of photography. Digital technology has opened up the world of photography to so many of us but the quality and quantity of the entries we received from right across Scotland was truly impressive. It is also really good to see so many people engaging with their Parliament through this competition and through new media such as Instagram.”
“It’s particularly appropriate that we open voting today on St Andrew’s Day and I urge people again to get involved and vote for their favourite. If this has inspired any budding photographers I also encourage them to come along to the Parliament to see the Harry Benson exhibition before it closes on the 3 December.”
Harry Benson said:
“It was very, very hard to choose, it’s a very high standard. Photography is in a boom right now. You used to not see that before, but people can now take a photo, look at it and discard it and then get a better picture.
“It’s not like when you used to have to go to a one hour photo, get your film developed and get back a load of bad pictures! People take pride in what they take – you see it now, every one of these photos is very good. It’s hard to make a choice.
“They’re well composed and interesting – a good photograph to me is what’s in it.”
